Question marks still abound for Cowboys

IRVING – The Cowboys offseason workouts were spirited and productive, but that doesn’t mean the club isn’t entering its six-week vacation without question marks.

“I really do feel we have top talent on the team, but this same talent – the majority of it – saw us fall short last year,” said Jerry Jones, referring to the humbling 34-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the playoffs. “And that keeps anybody from getting too caught up in what this looks like right now. We have a lot of work to do.”

Dallas still doesn’t know if Alan Ball and Doug Free are the answers at free safety and left tackle. Without the use of pads during the voluntary workouts and minicamp, it’s hard to tell if they can get the jobs done at those respective positions.

The foggy picture, though, is sure to clear at training camp, which begins July 23 in San Antonio.

“It will depend on how they do in camp and in (preseason games),” Wade Phillips said. “We’ll play the best players.”

So far, both Ball and Free have shown great promise. Their position coaches, Dave Campo (secondary) and Hudson Houck (offensive line), believe strongly they are on the right track to nailing down the jobs.

“I’m very satisfied with what (Free) is doing,” Houck said. “I’m trying to find some flaws in the guy. But he’s very smart. He knows what he needs to work on and he does that…It’s up to us coaches not to screw him up.”

Camp and the preseason will also be where the Cowboys find out if David Buehler can make the transition from kickoff specialist to placekicker.

All told, there should be plenty to write about at training camp in San Antonio and later in Oxnard, Calif.,